al-Radd ala al-Subki fi Masalat Taliq al-Talaq
- Author died
- 728 AH
- Editions
- Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Mazru'
al-Radd ala al-Subki fi Masalat Taliq al-Talaq (The Refutation of al-Subki Regarding the Issue of Conditional Divorce) is a legal treatise written by the Hanbali jurist and theologian Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728 AH / 1328 CE) to counter the critique of the Shafi'i chief judge Taqi al-Din al-Subki (d. 756 AH / 1355 CE) concerning oaths and conditional pronouncements of divorce .
Background and Context
Early in his career, Ibn Taymiyya adhered to the mainstream stance taught in his Hanbali upbringing, issuing fatwas that conditional divorce (al-talaq al-muallaq) took effect upon the occurrence of the stipulated condition . Following more than twenty years of researching transmitted reports, juristic differences, claimed consensuses, and legal objectives without declaring his conclusions publicly, he began issuing rulings distinguishing between conditional divorce intended to enact a separation and conditional divorce uttered merely as an oath to urge, deter, or verify an assertion . He maintained that when such a condition is broken without the intent of divorce, the marriage remains valid, and the husband is solely liable for an oath expiation (kaffarat yamin) .
This ruling sparked fierce opposition from contemporary scholars and authorities, ultimately leading to Ibn Taymiyya's imprisonment for several months and prohibitions against issuing fatwas on the matter . Among his staunchest detractors were Kamal al-Din Ibn al-Zamlakani and Taqi al-Din al-Subki . Al-Subki authored six separate refutations defending the prevailing view that conditional divorce takes effect unconditionally, including Rafi al-Shiqaq fi Masalat al-Talaq, al-Tahqiq fi Masalat al-Taliq, al-Durra al-Mudiyya fi al-Radd ala Ibn Taymiyya, and al-Nazar al-Muhaqqaq fi al-Half bi-l-Talaq al-Muallaq .
Composition and Title
Ibn Taymiyya wrote this refutation in Damascus in response to an objection sent to him from Egypt, written after 716 AH or around 717 AH . Although Ibn Taymiyya responded directly to passages found in al-Subki's critique, internal evidence suggests he was replying specifically to al-Subki's earlier, concise tract Rafi al-Shiqaq, which al-Subki later expanded into al-Tahqiq fi Masalat al-Taliq .
Ibn Taymiyya did not assign a formal title to the work . Biographical and catalog sources described it descriptively, such as "a lengthy response in three volumes to an objection that reached him from Egypt" (jawab itirad warada alayhi min al-Diyar al-Misriyya) or "The Great Refutation of the one who objected to him regarding swearing by divorce" (al-Radd al-kabir ala man itarada alayhi fi masalat al-half bi-l-talaq) . The current standardized title, al-Radd ala al-Subki fi Masalat Taliq al-Talaq, was assigned by its modern editor .
Content and Method
The work systematically analyzes al-Subki's arguments, addressing the linguistic, juristic, and scriptural dimensions of oaths and conditional statements . Ibn Taymiyya critiques opponents who rely purely on apparent literal texts or overly broad linguistic generalizations without considering the intent of the speaker (qasd) and divine legal wisdom . He also examines legal methodology (usul al-fiqh), challenging those who build absolute negative rulings on presumption of original state (istishab hal al-bara'a), arguing that istishab is among the weakest forms of evidence and represents the absence of proof rather than an affirmative legal proof in its own right .
Manuscript and Publication
A major portion of the original three-volume work was lost over time, but a manuscript fragment representing the second volume—copied in 744 AH (1343 CE)—survived, though it contains a lacuna of approximately ten folios at the beginning . This surviving text was edited by Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Mazru and published in a single volume by Dar Alam al-Fawa'id and Dar Ata'at al-Ilm / Dar Ibn Hazm in 1435 AH (2014 CE) .
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